Signs of the times

You might think the reason for this photo is the ad for storage -- it is rather weird that we need to pay $$ to keep our stuff out of our living area so we can buy more stuff. And if you look closely, the website is a .ca -- that's dot-CA, which means Canada (the Canadians have copied the Americans in their acquisitive habits). In Canada, billboards are illegal. The only place they can exist is on Indian Reserves, where not all White-guy laws apply. The Reserves make money by charging the White-guys plenty to put billboards there. This photo was taken just outside of Victoria, the capitol of British Columbia, Canada. The funny thing about that is the 2nd billboard... if you click on the picture, to enlarge it, you can read "United States of America" in the red strip at the bottom.

Cool new iPod

We have gotten this really great new toy -- an iPod "Touch". It is sooo coool. It syncs with our computer's email, address book, calendar, photos, movies and music. It goes anywhere on the internet and is especially good for viewing videos on YouTube. It does maps with directions and satellite views, and does lots of other cool things. You have to find a hot spot, just like with a computer. It really works so there's no need to take a computer with you for those things. It doesn't store documents or work with a wireless printer, yet, but I'm sure it will. Hundreds of people are working round the clock to make new software for it. And, it has that awesome iPod sound! Mozart never sounded so good!

"Fat Loss 4 Idiots"

That's the name of this diet. It's the one you always see advertised: "Lose 9 lbs in 11 days" Well, that didn't happen for Manfred, but he is not at all discouraged. He is learning a whole new way of eating: * eat 4 meals per day (he used to eat 2) * stop (eating) before you get full (he thought full was the purpose of eating) * combine food groups in unpredictable ways (scrambled eggs + grapes.) * drink lots of water (this is the only part that he didn't really try) Some meals are all meat. There is an all-veggie-&-fruit day. It's very low carb, and the carbs are mostly fruit. You choose the foods you like from 2 lists. A computer generates an 11-day meal plan schedule, with those foods You follow it exactly. You can cook the food any way you like, or get deli versions so no cooking at all.